(I'd like to start by saying, I'm sure most of my (very limited) readers are aware of the heartbreak Lauren at She Moved to Texasis going through. She is one of a handful of blogs that I've read over the years, well before I was blogging myself, and it truly breaks my heart. Tracy at Fly on Over has set up a GoFundMe for collecting donations, if you're able to do so.)
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| I mean, not a bad thought... |
I know, sounds insane. Why ashamed?! It was 2 miles of walking! Hear me out. While I have a physical job (I walk a lot especially), I'm not in the best shape. I don't like to lift weights of any kind, unless it's straw or hay. Even that I dislike but, ya know. Horses gotta eat and have bedding for their stalls. Pilates and yoga bore me, although I've been told there are different kinds so perhaps I haven't tried it enough. Crunches? MY OWN PERSONAL HELL. So basically all non cardio events are a no go for me. It never reallyyyy bothers me although I do openly admit that I should do those activities so I'm faster, stronger, more likely to not be injured, the list goes on.
I am a cardio bunny. There I said it. Given the choice, I will happily swim, bike, exercise on an elliptical, whatever. Running isn't my favorite because I've got a bad knee but I enjoyed it in my younger years.
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| Charlie, my knee breaking horse. HANDS DOWN favorite horse to date to flat. No one tell Digby! I think about him several times a year, every year, and hope he's ok. |
As for the bad knee, I fell off a horse 10 years ago. It was a stupid fall. He spooked at a farrier who was hot shoeing in the aisle. I fell off and landed on my knee cap. Went to physical therapy, mostly listened to their advice (crutches, like they suggested, never happened. I worked in two barns and it's not broken. Never gonna happen!) My knee was a daily pain but over the years, my body has adjusted to it and it doesn't hurt very often.
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| Not sure what's going on this in GIF (...is that an otter??) but I look like these marshmallows. |
Since my "in shape" shape would be a fluffy marshmallow, I've been trying to exercise more. I looked at some plans online. I compared. I thought about what would work best for me, my scheduled, and my lack of a gym. I picked one out and have been pretty much sticking to it. Yay me! Enter this post.
I just couldn't talk myself into working out. I was supposed to run but honestly didn't want to swim or bike either. I sat for a while and then thought "ok if I change into my workout clothes, I'll go." I went. I took the dogs (my own dog who is my regular running buddy plus another black lab who I am pet sitting for the evening) and got my playlist ready. I was warming up and the very thought of running made me cringe. No upward transitions for me. Couldn't do it. Didn't want to. Nope.
So I walked and walked. I thought eventually I would want to run. I didn't. So I didn't run. I was fairly ashamed of this. Like I'm a failure. It wasn't even hot! The dogs were great! I didn't have tooooo hard of a day at work. How dare I. But the longer I sat in my not sweaty gym clothes, the longer I realized "you know what? Whatever."
I'm at the point in my life where if it's not fun, I'm not going to do it. I have enough things in my life that aren't enjoyable or things I have to do (holidays and paying bills, I'm looking at you!!) that if I don't want to play, I'm not going to. For example, I love reading the newspaper. If I'm so busy that it will cause me stress to read it, I'm not going to read it that day. I love to color. If I feel like I am being forced to color to relax, I'm going to skip it.
Why is working out any different for me? I generally enjoy my cardio. I've decided some times it's best to listen when your body says "hell no." I will sip my post "workout" treat (chocolate milk! For when I work hard) and pretend I ran. There's always tomorrow, right?
